Lawmakers agree on education budget – Pictured: Elementary School Class – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Syda Productions
The main story: Florida lawmakers agreed on their spending plan for the upcoming year on the 102nd day of a 60-day session.
The budget seeks to keep overall spending to a minimum and is currently awaiting a final vote in both chambers. For example, after several years of adding $250 million more every year, the teacher pay rise barely exceeded $100 million.
The planned base student allocation is expected to increase by 0.78 percent, which is significantly less than the rate of inflation. Districts are free to use this allocation as needed. The majority of the additional funding, $29.5 billion, comes from property tax receipts, representing a 3.31 percent increase in the overall education budget. For further information, go to the most recent suggested FEFP.
Aware of the limitations, school board representatives are celebrating a significant victory after persuading lawmakers to preserve the additional funds they allocated to advanced and career-technical programs. When kids, parents, and teachers vehemently objected, budget planners changed their minds and agreed to maintain the amount at $596 million. Originally, they had promised to cut the sum in half.
Districts also pushed for changes to the state’s voucher funding mechanism, but those efforts failed, according to Politico Florida.
Districts have already begun talking about staffing cutbacks and other cuts for the upcoming year. By September, their fiscal 2026 budgets must be finished. Learn more about the budget for legislation.
Important queries
Who will come next? After seeing the panel put pressure on Hillsborough County school officials to remove library books, school board members around Florida expressed concerns about the goals of the State Board of Education and how it accomplishes them.
What comes next? According to the Miami Herald, the University of Florida has no clear future after their presidential candidate was rejected.
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Mike has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and public relations. He once owned his own agency and has worked with some of the largest brands in the world.
